How do I begin to refute the assertions Katelyn Thompson made in her letter Farming industry practices support health of animals (SN 10/24)? Never before have I been directly confronted with such an illogical argument that literally made me speechless. There is not one truthful statement in the entire letter.
Thompson states that current agribusiness practices are “safe, efficient and more than adequate for livestock.” The fact is, the safety and adequacy of animals is the last concern for factory farming industries. The profit is the bottom line and animals are cheap to replace and their welfare easy to ignore.
Thompson writes in her letter that gestation crates allow farm workers to monitor the safety, health and overall well-being of animals and is therefore a humane practice. In truth, gestation crates are tiny metal enclosures, where a sow is kept immobile for her entire life while she delivers litter after litter until she too is slaughtered alongside her piglets. Many sows go insane from the sheer lack of enrichment in their lives and the repeated separation from their offspring.
Battery cages — also heralded by Thompson as a safe and acceptable practice — corral several chickens into unbelievably small cages, where they have a space smaller than a sheet of computer paper to live. These chickens are unable to spread their wings, walk or even turnaround. Chickens often become deformed or mutilated within the cages, with some accounts even documenting chickens feet consuming the cage flooring because of a lack of movement.
Conditions within modern “farms” are truly hellish, and anyone who wishes to tell us otherwise is a liar. I expected better from an MSU animal science senior who will be representing our university in a few short months.
Mitch Goldsmith
social relations and policy sophomore
events coordinator for Students Promoting Animal Rights
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